Dudley Moore

This work traces the life of the diminutive musician, actor, commedian and sex symbol, Dudley Moore. It charts his early years as a working-class boy from Dagenham, his health problems, and his scholarship to Oxford, providing insights into his private life and inner angst and restlessness. Much to the dismay of tall men the world over, Dudley Moore has risen to become an international film star, media magnet and Hollywood heart-throb without losing a trace of the lovable English charm that propelled him to stardom in the 1960s. Dudley Moore's life has always been about making the very best of adversity. The son of a railway man, he spent an isolated childhood in and out of hospital receiving treatment for a clubfoot (which has never healed) - and where humour kept the bullies away and music was his salvation. Winning an organ scholarhip to Oxford, the working-class lad from Dagenham unexpectedly found he could attract the university's tallest and sophisticated girls, while his talent for jazz and acting flourished into the worldwide success of the satirical review "Beyond the Fringe" and his long-running partnership with Peter Cook as "Pete 'n' Dud" and "Derek & Clive".